1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tire building machine and, more particularly, to a robot for transporting a tire carcass in a second stage tire building machine and its method of use.
2. Description of the Background Art
Pneumatic tires of the bias type are generally built commercially in a "flat band" and subsequently expanded to the toroid shape in a curing mold. While building such tires, the strip material including the tread strips are applied directly over a laminated tire carcass while in a flat band orientation.
Conversely, pneumatic tires of the radial type are generally built commercially by the "toroid" method. This method requires a first stage tire building machine for constructing the carcass in a flat band configuration and a second stage tire building machine for constructing the breaker and tread strips and applying them to the carcass. At the second stage machine, the carcass is supported on a first drum where it is expanded into a toroid shape. The tread and breaker strips are separately built on a second drum and then transferred onto the periphery of the supported carcass to form the green tire ready for vulcanization.
Various approaches to continuous and automatic tire building machines and methods are disclosed in the literature. Note for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,230,517 to Enders; 4,239,565 to Henley; 4,391,769 to Ichikawa; 4,473,427 to Irie and 4,584,049 to Mukae. All of these patents disclose methods or apparatus for transporting carcasses in tire building machinery. Although many such advances are noteworthy to one extent or another, none achieves the objective of a tire building machine which is continuous and automatic, efficient, rapid and economical in its operation.
As illustrated by the great number of prior patent as well as commercial devices, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to improve tire building machines and methods to render them more effective, rapid and economical. None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the present invention. Additionally, prior tire building machines do not suggest the present inventive combination of method steps and component elements arranged and configured as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, with the use of minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing only readily available materials.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a robot for transporting a cylindrical tire carcass between various processing locations comprising arms with contoured free ends movable toward each other to thereby grasp the exterior cylindrical surface of a carcass, the free ends also being movable away from each other to thereby grasp the interior cylindrical surface of a green tire; transport means to move the arms between a pick up location, a tire building machine, and an inspection location; and control means adapted to move the arms toward each other at the pick up location to grasp the exterior cylindrical surface of a carcass and to activate the transport means to convey the grasped carcass to the tire building machine, the control means also adapted to move the arms away from each other at the tire building machine to grasp the interior cylindrical surface of a green tire and to activate the transport means to convey the grasped green tire to the inspection location.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of transporting a cylindrical tire carcass and a cylindrical green tire between various processing locations comprising providing a robot having arms with contoured free ends movable toward each other t thereby grasp the exterior cylindrical surface of a carcass and movable away from each other to thereby grasp the interior cylindrical surface of a green tire; moving the robot between a pick up location, a tire building machine, and an inspection location; closing the arms by pivotal movement toward each other at the pick up location to grasp the exterior cylindrical surface of a carcass and then transporting the grasped carcass to the tire building machine through the moving of the robot; and opening the arms by pivotal movement away from each other at the tire building machine to grasp the interior cylindrical surface of a green tire and then transporting the grasped green tire to the inspection location by the moving of the robot.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improve method of transporting a cylindrical tire carcass between various processing locations comprising providing a robot with contoured arms movable toward each other to thereby grasp the exterior cylindrical surface of a carcass and movable away from each other to thereby grasp the interior cylindrical surface of the carcass; moving the robot between a pick up location a second stage tire building machine, and a drop off location; moving the arms toward each other at the pick up location to grasp the exterior of the carcass and transporting the robot to convey the grasped carcass to the second stage tire building machine; and moving the fingers away from each other at the intermediate location to grasp the interior of the carcass and transporting the robot to convey the grasped carcass to the drop off location.
It is yet a further object of this invention to move a tire carcass to and through a second stage tire building machine and to remove the constructed green tire therefrom.
Lastly, it is yet an additional object of the invention to build tires on a second stage tire building machine more efficiently, rapidly and economically.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.